How to Increase Course Completion Rates

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Written by: Vivekanandhan Natarajan

Updated on: 8/8/2023

The fast-paced SaaS industry is about more than just being at the forefront of technology. It's about navigating the treacherous terrains of user engagement, particularly in online learning courses. Are your online course enrollments skyrocketing, but completion rates plummeting? Why do eager learners suddenly turn into dropouts?

Let's roll up our sleeves, step into their shoes, and face the issue head-on. This definitive guide will help you with strategies to increase online course completion.

Why Don't Learners Complete Online Courses?

Data suggests that MOOCs have a completion rate of just 5-15% - a number that takes time to digest. So what's causing this disconnect? Are the courses too long or too complicated?

There are many factors that cause learners to abandon their online training programs. Before you jump into course creation, you must know about the reasons. The following are some of the most often cited causes of poor course completion rates of online courses:

Lack of drive

Without a clear goal or drive, online learners may disconnect and quit. They lack the desire to complete the course because they do not feel connected with the course material.

Time Management

Customers who enrolled for the course Dropout rates in online courses are sometimes high because of the lack of time balance.

Terrible Instructional Design

Customers are less likely to succeed and engage in courses if the courses are poorly planned. They give up if the course is not straightforward and interactive.

Lack of Communication and Assistance

Customers feel isolated when there is no way to engage with their course creator or peer. They feel unsupported when there is no timely feedback and a communication gap.

Insufficient Prior Knowledge or Skills

Customers sometimes start courses without the necessary knowledge or skills. If you assume their understanding and don't provide adequate resources or support, dropout rates increase.

Overwhelming Workload

If they juggle several commitments, they struggle to keep up with the course. They decide to withdraw from a course if they feel they are unable to complete the requirements.

Lack of Accountability and Structure

Course enrollees struggle to accomplish their e-learning goals when counseling and resources are limited or poor.

How to Improve the Course Completion Rate?

Get ready to learn about practical techniques to make your courses as hard to put down as a Netflix show you can't stop watching.

Find Out the Reasons for Dropping Out

Put on your detective hat and dive into some research. Conduct exit surveys or one-on-one interviews to uncover the reasons for dropping out. These insights will work as your course improvement strategy.

Defined Learning Outcomes

Get the message out to prospective customers about what they may expect to gain from taking your course. Learners are more likely to maintain their motivation and dedication if they can envision the benefits they will reap upon successful course completion.

Specific Information

Make sure that the subject matter covered in the course is appropriate and meets the needs of learners. To keep your learners motivated and involved, address the problems they'll likely encounter in their journey.

Bite-sized Modules

Consider attention spans and break the learning course information into more consumable bits. Less time per session minimize anxiety and lets customers learn at their own pace. It increases the completion rates of the course.

Add Interactive Media

Include video, animation, quizzes, and case studies, among other forms of multimedia. They can help learners to interact and engage throughout their learning journey.

Personalization

Provide customized course topics that build upon their prior knowledge and experience. Customizing the learning process for customers can boost their sense of ownership and commitment to completing your courses.

Progress Tracking

Create a method of tracking learners' progress that clearly demonstrates their current standing in the course. Learners who see tangible signs of improvement are more likely to stick with the content and increase completion rates.

Support and Interaction

Help the learners to communicate with their instructors, peers, and customer service reps. The feeling of being alone in the learning journey can be mitigated through discussion forums, live webinars, or Q&A sessions.

Content Localization

Adapt the course content and materials to suit learners' needs and preferences from different regions. Translate the learning content into other languages and take cultural differences into account. It will improve learning experiences for customers from different corners of the world. Introduce a learning management system, LMS, that helps in content localization.

Gamification

Add friendly competition and fun to your course with gamified components like badges, points, and leaderboards. Using gamification, learners are more likely to finish courses to receive their promised prizes.

Constant Contact and Reminders

Motivate your learners to keep learning with automated reminders or notifications. Consistent contact is also helpful for discussing and finding solutions to any problems.

Post-Course Benefits

Emphasize how the skills learned can be used after the training. This can help learners see the value in finishing the course and commit to doing so.

Feedback and Surveys

Collect customer comments at multiple points throughout the course to pinpoint weak spots. Use this information to make ongoing changes to the course and fix any problems that would prevent enrollment.

Course Reinforcement

After a course is over, give a quick quiz or link to other resources to help students remember what they learned.

Conclusion

If you are seeking a quick fix to improve course completion rates, there is no solution. But with the right plans, it's doable. All you need is the right plan and a software application to eliminate the guesswork.

Trainn allows you to develop engaging courses for your consumers.

Trainn is a video-led customer training platform. With Trainn, discover customer training needs and create and deliver engaging content. Scale training delivery across channels, measure and improve training outcomes, and drive lifelong learning with the platform.

Don't let consumer involvement and loyalty slip away. Try Trainn today.

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